Suspect in assassination of Charlie Kirk charged with aggravated murder

The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been charged with aggravated murder.

The charge means Tyler Robinson, 22, could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Mr Kirk last week.

Announcing the charges, Utah County attorney Jeff Gray said: “The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy.”

Mr Kirk was gunned down on September 10 as he spoke to students at Utah Valley University and died soon after.

Members of the New York Young Republicans Club during a minute’s silence for Charlie Kirk during a vigil in New York (Kena Betancur/AP). PA Media

Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Mr Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby campus building.

A Utah Valley University police officer was watching the university campus crowd from an “elevated position” and identified the roof of the Losee Centre as a potential position for a gunman, Mr Gray said.

The officer found evidence on the roof immediately, he said, and spurred officers to direct their attention to surveillance video leading to the roof.

Mr Gray said Robinson’s DNA was found on the trigger of the rifle. He said Robinson discarded the rifle and clothing and asked his roommate to conceal evidence.

Robinson left a note under a keyboard saying he planned to kill Kirk and confessed after the shooting, documents show.

Utah governor Spencer Cox, centre, and FBI director Kash Patel, right, during a press conference at Utah Valley University on Friday (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson). PA Media

Robinson was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

It was unclear whether Robinson had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Robinson appears to have stayed in the area after shooting Mr Kirk and ditching his rifle, authorities said.

In a text exchange with his roommate released by authorities, Robinson allegedly wrote: “I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering.”

Then he allegedly wrote: “Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything about them finding it.”

And after that, he is said to have sent: “I can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I don’t wanna chance it.”

The texts shared in court documents do not have timestamps.

Tyler Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder (AP). PA Media

Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St George, the southern Utah community where he grew up.

Investigators have spoken to Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, Utah, about 240 miles south-west of where the shooting happened.

Mr Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of US President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations.

He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics. His shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarised United States.

While authorities say Robinson has not been co-operating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking.

Utah governor Spencer Cox said over the weekend that those who know Robinson say his politics shifted left in recent years and he spent a lot of time in the “dark corners of the internet”.

FBI director Kash Patel said on Monday on the Fox News Channel show Fox & Friends that DNA evidence has linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found near the Utah Valley campus and a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP). PA Media

The FBI also is looking at “anyone and everyone” who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson, Mr Patel said on Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington. The chatroom involved “a lot more” than 20 people, he said.

“We are investigating Charlie’s assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence,” Mr Patel said in response to a question about whether the shooting of Mr Kirk was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.

Investigators are working on finding a motive for the attack, Utah’s governor said on Sunday, adding that more information may come out once Robinson appears for his initial court hearing.

Mr Cox said Robinson’s romantic partner was transgender, which some politicians have pointed to as a sign the suspect was targeting Mr Kirk for his anti-transgender views. But authorities have not said whether that played a role. Mr Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.

Mr Gray declined to answer a question about whether transgender issues played a role in the motive behind Mr Kirk’s shooting. He pointed to the charging documents, saying they summed up those points.

The charges filed on Tuesday carry two enhancements including committing several of the crimes in front of or close to children and carrying out violence based on the subject’s political beliefs.

Mr Gray declined to say whether Robinson’s roommate could face charges or whether anyone else might face charges. He also declined to say whether Robinson was co-operating or whether his parents or roommate had continued to co-operate.

In the days since Mr Kirk’s assassination, Americans have found themselves facing questions about rising political violence, the deep divisions that brought the nation here and whether anything can change.